According to MSNBC, Mike Huckabee's grant of clemency in 2004 to an imprisoned DWI multiple offender by the name of Eugene Fields came at a suspicious time.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com...
In August 2001, Fields was convicted of his fourth DWI charge, and was sentenced to six years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Fields reported to prison August 2003. Six weeks into that six-year sentence, Fields' application for clemency, "a commutation of his sentence the governor could issue to grant Fields an early release from prison, was unanimously supported by the parole board. Within months, Huckabee issued his intent to grant executive clemency to Fields, who was released from prison soon thereafter."
Anything fishy about this?
But the governor's ultimate decision to grant Fields an early release from prison was met with scrutiny from the media and others at the time. The Arkansas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in a letter to Huckabee noted Fields had a history of re-offending, and "a track record of non-rehabilitation and of ignoring second chances." ***[]questions about the handling of Fields' case surfaced again in 2006 when he was convicted on another DWI charge, just two years after his release from prison. According to the police report, Fields drove into oncoming traffic on an Arkansas road and into the path of a police officer's car before crossing back into the correct lane.***
Documents recently obtained by NBC News now suggest that Fields' clemency case was handled differently from others with similar felony DWI convictions.
An examination of clemency records available in the Arkansas Secretary of State's office, provided to NBC News by MADD Arkansas, shows that in Huckabee's decade in office, only seven clemencies or pardons were ever granted for DWI convictions. *** Fields' case was the only one in which any objection was made by law enforcement, and disregarded by the governor.
Prosecutor Marc McCune filed an official objection at the time, "strongly" objecting to Fields being granted clemency, as did the sheriff from Fields' county, who suggested in his objection that Fields "should do his minimum" sentence. Not one of the other seven DWI convictions listed an objection of any kind, noting in each case that judicial and law enforcement officials "have raised no objections to applicant's request."
Fields' case was also the only one of those seven in which significant time had not passed between the time of the conviction, and the granting of the clemency or pardon by Huckabee.***
Here's the most interesting contributions information:
According to Federal Election Commission records, a month after Fields' appeal was denied, his wife made a $5,000 donation to the State Republican Party in June of 2003. A month later, she made an additional $5,000 donation, again to the Republican Party of Arkansas. The following month, Fields reported to prison and began his clemency application process. He was a free man in less than a year.A former elected official in Arkansas with fundraising experience for the State Republican Party says the timing of Mrs. Fields' donations raises serious questions about their intended purpose. ***
"In the summer of 2003 there's no real political activity," said the former official. "It's always a tough time to raise money in those periods, and all of sudden $10,000 comes walking through the door when there's no campaign going on? There's no reason to give that kind of money then."
Prior to his wife's donations, Fields had made a $10,000 donation to the Republican Party of Arkansas in October of 2000 under "Fields Investment Company," the name of his business. Both Mrs. Fields' 2003 donations and Mr. Fields' 2000 donation placed them among the largest, individual donors to the Republican Party of Arkansas in those years, on par with donations from members of the Walton family, of the Wal-Mart department store chain. ***
The Huckabee campaign today denied there was any connection between the handling of the clemency application and any political donation.
It looks suspicious to me. Is he really that much of a a cheaply mercenary person, i.e., a huckster?